On Friday, March 20, the vernal equinox will occur once again, marking the gradual return to warmer days in the Northern Hemisphere and winter's official astronomical end.
However, for 2015, the spring equinox will transpire amidst two other celestial events: a total solar eclipse [for some areas] and a new supermoon.
"You could call it a cosmic coincidence," Slooh Observatory Manager Paul Cox said, adding that he will be traveling to the Faroe Islands as part of Slooh's expedition for the rare eclipse.
Slooh will be broadcasting the entire event live from the Faroe Islands, located in the northern Atlantic Ocean, which will serve as one of the best land-based locations for viewing the full effect of the eclipse as the moon slides in front of the sun.
Watch below for Slooh's live broadcast of the event set to start at 4:30 a.m. EDT or 8:30 UTC International Time:
The Total Solar Eclipse of 2015
Event starts Fri Mar, 20 2015 3:30 AM CDT SLOOH
"Nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing, in nature is as powerful and spectacular as the totality of a solar eclipse," Slooh Astronomer Bob Berman said.
"Sadly, they only happen every 360 years on average for any given location, which means that a very low percentage of the population has ever seen one."
While the total eclipse will only be visible from areas of the northern Atlantic Ocean, the farther north a person is located in Western Europe, the better visibility they will have, Cox said.
A partial solar eclipse occurs when the moon obscures only part of the sun from Earth's view. (Image Credit: T. Ruen/ NASA)
For example, those living in northern Scotland can expect approximately 95 percent of the sun to be blocked during the eclipse, while those as far south as Rome, Italy, can expect more than 50 percent, he added.
Some people are even raising concerns about the eclipse's impact on power grids due to the sudden drop in solar power during the event, the Associated Press reported.
"Experts say the country's electricity grid, which relies increasingly on renewable energy, faces a crucial test on the morning of March 20, when the moon will pass in front of the sun and block up to 82 percent of its light across Germany," the Associated Press reported.
The eclipse will be partially visible for portions of Africa, eastern Europe and northern Russia as the Earth rotates.
Because the darkest part of the shadow, or umbra, will pass northward over the Atlantic Ocean and toward the North Pole, the Faroe Islands offers one of the only land-based spots on Earth to experience the eclipse's full effect. However, those at sea in the Atlantic could catch a better glimpse of the rare celestial event.
As the Earth rotates at nearly 1,040 mph, it completes its revolution around the sun at nearly 67,000 mph.
The beautiful Blue Planet we call home travels an elliptical orbit at a 23.5 degree tilt, or obliquity, from the sun which is responsible for the change in seasons.
This is marked twice each year by an equinox and twice by a solstice.
"The vernal equinox is when the most direct rays of the sun are directed on the equator," AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist Dan Kowlottski said.
Continuing through the spring and into summer, daylight builds in the Northern Hemisphere with the sun's direct rays moving farther north of the equator until the summer solstice, the day with the longest duration of sunlight in the entire year, occurs.
In addition to the vernal equinox and the eclipse, a new supermoon will also occur Friday. The supermoon is either a full moon or a new moon that occurs during the moon's closest approach to Earth on its elliptical orbit.
This proximity results in the appearance of a larger lunar disk, around 15 percent larger, during a full supermoon as seen from the planet.
With the solar eclipse happening simultaneously with a new supermoon, astronomers will be able to view the new moon's silhouette, something that is normally impossible, Cox said.
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"It gives us the ability to see a rare supermoon," Cox said. "This is the one opportunity to see a truly new moon."
It will also provide a slightly longer time window, a little more than two minutes, for Cox's team to catch the totality of the eclipse for their broadcast, he added.
While a supermoon and solar eclipse occurring together is a rather rare celestial event, the coupling of a solar eclipse and the vernal equinox is not as rare, Cox said.
"It's cyclical," he said. "There are usually four or five together [over a period of 19 years]."
The first occurrence of another solar eclipse during the vernal equinox will be seen after a 19-year interval from Friday's event (in 2034), followed by another in 2053 and a third of these grouped events in 2072.
The next series of solar eclipses transpiring on the day of the vernal equinox will not happen again for more than a century following 2072's eclipse.
Those seeking to watch the eclipse should exercise caution and not look directly at the sun.
Those who plan on viewing the event directly should use protective eclipse glasses or build a safe viewing device.
Total solar eclipse 2015: how to see it
Solar eclipse hunters! Here’s where to go and what you can do to witness this rare event http://www.spaceanswers.com/astronomy/total-solar-eclipse-2015-how-to-see-it/
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On 20 March 2015, the last total Solar Eclipse for over a decade (in Europe) will be visible from a few remote parts of the Earth. This time, although parts of Africa, Asia and Northern Europe will have a partial glimpse, it’s the turn of the Northern Atlantic to bask in over two minutes of daytime darkness.
The path of totality is from just below the Greenland peninsula, heading north into the Arctic Circle, a course that takes it across the Norwegian island of Svalbard and also the Faero Islands, for a full 2 minutes 9 secondsof total solar eclipse.
For the majority of eclipse hunters who don’t live in this remote area of the world, the inconvenient alignment of the Sun and the Moon might appear to make chasing this event seem futile. Fortunately, there is an eclipse cruise from Newcastle in the UK that will take you to the Faroe Islands in time to witness the full Moon crossing the Sun as it happens (check out eclipseofthecentury.com or call (+44) 20 7766 5237 for more information).
A total eclipse of the Sun can happen on Earth because, although the Moon is about 400 times smaller than the Sun, it’s also around 400 times closer to the Earth, so its disc can completely fill the disc of the Sun and cause a total solar eclipse. However, the Moon is currently moving away from the Earth at a rate of 3.8 centimetres a year, which means that around 563 million years from now, the Earth will experience its final total solar eclipse as the angular size of the Moon becomes too small to cover the solar disc.
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Pluto goes retrograde April 16-17 through Sept 24-25. See http://www.lynnkoiner.com/astrology-articles/pluto-retrograde
Expect HUGE Changes During This Rare Astrological Alignment!
Compiled by Gregg Prescott, M.S. Editor, In5D.com
A rare astrological alignment that hasn’t been seen since America’s Revolutionary War will be influencing many upcoming events on this planet.
The following two articles and addendum clearly spell out how the cycles of time repeat themselves, not only in what happened the last time Pluto was in Capricorn, but what is happening right now and what we can expect in the very near future.
Fasten your seat belts, folks, you’re in for the ride of your life!
THE HIGHER THEY CLIMB, THE HARDER THEY FALL
Pluto has been lurking quietly in the background in Capricorn since 2008 and has, in this sign of worldly power, been the silent pot simmering on the back burner, ready to destroy the established world orders. It represents changes that take time, but leaves nothing standing after it passes.
There are a few more aspects, but no point in getting overly scientific, let’s just skip to the meat and potatoes.
Below, Astrologer Jim Dellicolli talks about Pluto in Capricorn:
The following two articles and addendum clearly spell out how the cycles of time repeat themselves, not only in what happened the last time Pluto was in Capricorn, but what is happening right now and what we can expect in the very near future.
Fasten your seat belts, folks, you’re in for the ride of your life!
THE HIGHER THEY CLIMB, THE HARDER THEY FALL
Pluto has been lurking quietly in the background in Capricorn since 2008 and has, in this sign of worldly power, been the silent pot simmering on the back burner, ready to destroy the established world orders. It represents changes that take time, but leaves nothing standing after it passes.
There are a few more aspects, but no point in getting overly scientific, let’s just skip to the meat and potatoes.
Below, Astrologer Jim Dellicolli talks about Pluto in Capricorn:
The journalists, investigative reporters, and television hosts, are not what they appear to be, behind the scenes. Those who report things to humanity are burning to tell the truth, truths which they are well aware of. These are individuals who are told on an hourly basis what to say, and what not to say, and lately, they’ve been told to not say a great many things. Can you imagine life in their position? If it is not able to do so, it becomes part of the problem, which must then face the same type of re-structuring so that it can be made right, like everything else, so that it may become functional, and honest.
Before a planet goes retrograde, it becomes stationary, meaning it slows down, or stands still. Pluto moves slowly anyway, so when it stands still, it really stands still. This is the time, in ancient Astrology, when it is said that a planet resembles a person filled with fear. Paralysis may occur, as one is hesitant to continue, just as the planet is stopping in its motion. In the psyche of those affected, this can manifest as running away from situations in the person’s immediate reality. This is reflected in the standstill.
It is at this point in time that the division between men occurs; those who possess some inherent wisdom and foresight will stop trying to paddle up the raging river, while those who lack insight, and refuse to give up control, continue walking down the path of destruction. We’re talking about Pluto here: Pluto gives no quarter and takes no prisoners, instead merrily destroys everything false in its path. Pluto doesn’t care about how you feel and will ruthlessly perform its service and not look back. You just can’t mess with Pluto.
Pluto is in fact in the sign of Capricorn, which governs worldly power, and Pluto is the great bringer of change. There is no democracy here for those who participate in current high ranking worldly affairs, and they don’t get to vote. They were never going to survive this plutonian transit, and it will soon become impossible, once Pluto becomes stationary and goes retrograde. The big cookie must crumble. But we may expect some mischief mid to late March, as mentioned, as they scramble for a way out, or attempt to lash out at humanity, just because they still can, and because they will be in their final days and hours.
If anyone wishes to examine the governmental changes of the last Pluto in Capricorn cycle, they may examine historical events from 1762 to 1778. But this time around, it must be understood, that the power structures are far more globalized, centralized, organized, unified, and corrupt. The higher they climb, the harder they fall, and this retrograde Pluto, in the sign of Capricorn, will herald the inevitable: the total destruction of government as we know it. To imagine it could be any other way is a fairy tale.
This is good enough for now. But remember, when the media is freed, many things are going to come down the pipe. And that includes disclosure. I hear there are some people from very far away who are just dying to say hello.
Before a planet goes retrograde, it becomes stationary, meaning it slows down, or stands still. Pluto moves slowly anyway, so when it stands still, it really stands still. This is the time, in ancient Astrology, when it is said that a planet resembles a person filled with fear. Paralysis may occur, as one is hesitant to continue, just as the planet is stopping in its motion. In the psyche of those affected, this can manifest as running away from situations in the person’s immediate reality. This is reflected in the standstill.
It is at this point in time that the division between men occurs; those who possess some inherent wisdom and foresight will stop trying to paddle up the raging river, while those who lack insight, and refuse to give up control, continue walking down the path of destruction. We’re talking about Pluto here: Pluto gives no quarter and takes no prisoners, instead merrily destroys everything false in its path. Pluto doesn’t care about how you feel and will ruthlessly perform its service and not look back. You just can’t mess with Pluto.
Pluto is in fact in the sign of Capricorn, which governs worldly power, and Pluto is the great bringer of change. There is no democracy here for those who participate in current high ranking worldly affairs, and they don’t get to vote. They were never going to survive this plutonian transit, and it will soon become impossible, once Pluto becomes stationary and goes retrograde. The big cookie must crumble. But we may expect some mischief mid to late March, as mentioned, as they scramble for a way out, or attempt to lash out at humanity, just because they still can, and because they will be in their final days and hours.
If anyone wishes to examine the governmental changes of the last Pluto in Capricorn cycle, they may examine historical events from 1762 to 1778. But this time around, it must be understood, that the power structures are far more globalized, centralized, organized, unified, and corrupt. The higher they climb, the harder they fall, and this retrograde Pluto, in the sign of Capricorn, will herald the inevitable: the total destruction of government as we know it. To imagine it could be any other way is a fairy tale.
This is good enough for now. But remember, when the media is freed, many things are going to come down the pipe. And that includes disclosure. I hear there are some people from very far away who are just dying to say hello.
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